Hello! I am going to be applying to the 2021 cycle (submitting application June 2020) and have a few questions regarding letters of recommendation.
- If I am going to be submitting my application June 2020, when should I start asking for LoRs?
- I am unsure of protocol/best practice here. When requesting LoRs, what additional documents are good to provide? Should I attach a resume? Should I attach a brief letter about my goals and pertinent information? Should I attach a draft letter in some instance for the recommender to use as a starting point (very unsure about protocol with regards to this)? Because of the types of LoRs needed (more to follow below) some of the people I may end up asking know me very well, and some do not know me as well.
- I finished undergrad in 2010 with a biomedical engineering degree, but I commissioned in the Navy shortly thereafter. I am fairly certain hardly any of my undergrad professors remember me, nor could they write a LoR in much detail about me and what I did in undergrad and have done afterwards. Should I still seek to obtain a LoR from an undergrad professor? I took Organic Chem at nights while active duty at a local community college, and the professor got to know me and we connected. Should I ask him for a LoR? I am unsure how an LoR would look from a professor at a 2-year college. I plan to ask my previous commanding officer for a LoR because he got to know me extremely well over 2 years and over 1 deployment. Would that type of letter carry weight with an AdCom? I also plan to seek an LoR through clinical volunteering I have done while on shore duty.
I am just trying to see where I should be looking to get LoRs considering my background - out of undergrad since 2010 and active-duty Navy since 2010 (still active-duty).
Thanks for any guidance and thoughts!